Fiona Longmuir
Author (she/her)
Hello! I'm Fiona, professional storyteller and general calamity.
About
Fiona Longmuir was born in Paisley, Scotland. Shortly afterwards, she picked up a pencil and never really put it back down. She writes about stubborn, oddball little kids, having had a lot of personal experience in that area.
Fiona is the author of two middle grade adventures published by Nosy Crow, Looking for Emily and Freya's Gold, both taking place in the sleepy seaside town of Edge. Her work has been shortlisted in the Bath Children's Novel Award and the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize.
Fiona now lives in the Irish countryside with her brilliant husband, her surly cat and her extremely silly dog.She is represented by Julia Silk at Greyhound Literary.
books by fiona longmuir
Looking for Emily
When twelve-year-old Lily moves to the sleepy seaside town of Edge, she’s sure that nothing exciting is ever going to happen to her again. But when she stumbles upon a secret museum hidden in the middle of town, she realises that there might be more to her new home than meets the eye.The Museum of Emily is filled with the belongings of one seemingly ordinary girl – a girl who, many years ago, disappeared from the town without a trace. With the help of her new friends Sam and Jay, Lily is determined to solve the mystery and find out who Emily was, why she disappeared and who has created the strange, hidden museum.
Buy the book using the buttons below, or support your local independent bookshop or library!
Freya's Gold
Buried treasure. Hidden secrets. One golden chance.Legend says the cliffs by the seaside town of Edge are riddled with smugglers’ tunnels, and that gold is stashed in their caves. Freya and her best friend, Lin, love searching for treasure on the beach, but they steer clear of the dark and twisting tunnels. It’d be easy to get lost in there, and Freya’s sure she can hear voices echoing from them when the wind blows.Then a mysterious woman moves into Freya’s granny’s B&B and soon everything that Freya loves about Edge is under threat. It’s time for Freya to face her fears. Can she strike gold before time runs out for her town?
Pr-order the book using the buttons below, or support your local independent bookshop or library!
News
waterstones best children's books 2022
october 2022
Looking for Emily is named as one of the Waterstones Best Children's Books of 2022.
Fiona catches up with PJ Coogan on Cork96FM
8th August 2022
Fiona chats to the Opinion Line with PJ Coogan about Looking for Emily, the importance of good teachers, and the sudden, crushing realisation that your parents are whole people with their own lives.
Readers choose their own adventure at carfest north
22nd july 2022
Fiona travels to CarFest North in Chester to lead a group of intrepid young explorers on a choose-your-own-adventure session through Edge.
Fiona chats to the Big Kids Book Club
22nd june 2022
Fiona tells Marcus at the Big Kids Book Club about the inspiration for Looking for Emily, what she likes best about the seaside and why Drop Dead Fred is the best movie ever. Listeners also have the chance to win a copy of Looking for Emily, click below to find out more!
Looking for Emily is a Hive bestseller!
21st june 2022
Looking for Emily is one of Hive's bestselling books of the week, in at number fourteen!
Looking for Emily is a dubray pick of the month!
june 2022
The fabulous Dubray bookshop picks Looking for Emily as their 9+ book of the month for June.
Fiona catches up with Readingzone magazine
16th june 2022
Fiona chats with ReadingZone magazine about the inspiration for Looking for Emily, why she's happiest when up to her elbows in dirt and why libraries are the world's greatest invention. Look out for the dog cameo two minutes in!
Fiona becomes a book fairy for the day
8th june 2022
Do you believe in book fairies? They've been hiding copies of Looking for Emily all over the UK. And if you're in Brighton, you might stumble on a few hidden by a certain human they took along for the ride...Check out the #TBFEmily tag on Twitter and Instagram and see if you can follow the clues to a copy near you!
Looking for Emily is the hive children's book of the month!
June 2022
Hive selects Looking for Emily as their children's book of the month, describing it as "a one-of-a-kind mystery".
Looking for emily is published!
2nd JUNE 2022
Fun seaside mystery Looking for Emily hits bookshops! Its launch is celebrated at Mount Florida Books, where Fiona's family buy out the bookshop's entire stock of Looking for Emily.(Fiona is very excited again.)
Looking for emily is announced!
JUNE 2021
The acquisition of Looking for Emily by Tom Bonnick at Nosy Crow is officially announced in the Bookseller.
(Fiona is very excited.)
Teachers and schools
Homework helper
Some fun facts that might help you if you're discussing me or my books in your class!
I was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1991.
My birthday is on New Year's Eve and I was just an hour and seven minutes away from being born in a different year!
I have lived in lots of different places. I was born in Paisley, went to university in Edinburgh, lived in London for years and now live in the Irish countryside.
When I was little, I wanted to be a writer...or an inventor.
My favourite things to do (other than reading and writing books) are baking, spending time outside and watching terrible TV shows.
My favourite books for adults are My Cousin Rachel, Chocolat and the Secret History.
My favourite children's books are Time Stops for No Mouse, Danny Champion of the World and the Pages and Co series.
I am terrified of small spaces and spiders (although now that I live in the countryside, I'm working on that one!)
I have a cat called Dearg (pronounced ja-rog) and a dog called Faolán (pronounced fway-lon).
School visits and events
I would be so happy to visit your school and offer a talk, Q&A or workshop! Please read the guidelines below and get in touch via my contact form.
I am currently based in Ireland but visit the UK regularly, so am happy to consider school visits in both Ireland and the UK.
My books are aimed at young people aged 8-12 but sessions can be tailored, so please do get in touch to discuss your requirements.
I do have a day job outside of writing, so the more notice I have of a requested visit, the more likely it is that I'll be able to attend.
My fees are set in accordance with guidance from the Society of Authors and Children's Books Ireland.
A virtual visit - £80/€100
An in-person session of up to one hour - £175/€200, plus travel
An in-person session of up to three hours - £300/€350, plus travel
A full-day in-person session - £400/€450, plus travel
classroom resources and activities
Reading Looking for Emily with your class? Nosy Crow have developed some fun, free activities to spark young imaginations and bring the book to life.
Events
I am a confident and engaging public speaker, and would be delighted to join your event as a presenter, panellist or chair. I have extensive experience presenting both online and in-person, to audiences ranging from five people to 200+ people.
If you are interested in having me at your event, please complete my contact form.If you are a teacher or librarian looking to book a school visit, please refer to the guidelines in my Teachers and Schools page.
Upcoming Events
| 8th April 2024 | Creative writing for adults | A five week creative writing course for adults - beginners welcome! Please contact Castleblayney Library for more information or to book. |
Get in touch!
If you'd like me to visit your school, appear at your event, come on your podcast or answer a general question - I like doing all of those things! Please fill out the form below and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
If you are a young reader, I may not be able to reply to your email for safeguarding reasons but I love getting letters! You can write to me at the address below - and don't forget to include your address so I can write back!Fiona Longmuir
c/o Nosy Crow
Wheat Wharf
27a Shad Thames
London
SE1 2XZFor press/PR requests, please contact Rebecca Mason at Nosy Crow.I am represented by Julia Silk:
Greyhound Literary
49 Greek Street
London W1D 4EG
UK
julia@greyhoundliterary.co.ukI can almost always be found mooching on Twitter and Instagram.
Thank you
Thanks so much for getting in touch! I'll respond to you as soon as I can.
Press Kit
Key details
Name: Fiona Longmuir
Age: 32
Pronouns: she/her
Nationality: Scottish
Now living in Co Monaghan, Ireland.Bio
Fiona Longmuir was born in Paisley, Scotland. Shortly afterwards, she picked up a pencil and never really put it back down. She writes about stubborn, oddball little kids, having had a lot of personal experience in that area.
Fiona is the author of two middle grade adventures published by Nosy Crow, Looking for Emily and Freya's Gold, both taking place in the sleepy seaside town of Edge. Her work has been shortlisted in the Bath Children's Novel Award and the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize.
Fiona now lives in the Irish countryside with her brilliant husband, her surly cat and her extremely silly dog.
Books
Freya's Gold
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Release date: 6th June 2024
Genre: Middle grade adventure
Buy links: Waterstones, Bookshop.org, Amazon
Cover art: Carmi Grau
ISBN: 9781805130970
Length: 272 pages
Tagline: Buried treasure. Hidden secrets. One golden chance.
Short blurb: Freya loves searching for treasure on the sandy beaches of Edge, but steers clear of the dark cliffs and twisting tunnels. Then a mysterious woman checks into her granny's B&B and soon everything Freya loves about Edge is under threat. Can she strike gold before time runs out for her town?
Full blurb: Legend says the cliffs by the seaside town of Edge are riddled with smugglers’ tunnels, and that gold is stashed in their caves. Freya and her best friend, Lin, love searching for treasure on the beach, but they steer clear of the dark and twisting tunnels. It’d be easy to get lost in there, and Freya’s sure she can hear voices echoing from them when the wind blows.Then a mysterious woman moves into Freya’s granny’s B&B and soon everything that Freya loves about Edge is under threat. It’s time for Freya to face her fears. Can she strike gold before time runs out for her town?A gripping, contemporary adventure with brilliant twists and turns, from the author of Looking for Emily.
Looking for Emily
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Release date: 2nd June 2022
Genre: Middle grade adventure
Buy links: Waterstones, Bookshop.org, Dubray, Amazon
Cover art: Carmi Grau
ISBN: 9781839942754
Length: 272 pages
Tagline: How do you rescue someone who doesn't want to be found?
Short blurb: When twelve-year-old Lily moves to the sleepy seaside town of Edge, she’s sure that nothing exciting is ever going to happen to her again. But when she stumbles upon a secret museum hidden in the middle of town, she realises that there might be more to her new home than meets the eye.
Full blurb: A hugely gripping, fast-paced mystery adventure, with brilliant twists and turns, from a fresh and exciting new voice in children’s books.
When twelve-year-old Lily moves to the sleepy seaside town of Edge, she’s sure that nothing exciting is ever going to happen to her again. But when she stumbles upon a secret museum hidden in the middle of town, she realises that there might be more to her new home than meets the eye.
The Museum of Emily is filled with the belongings of one seemingly ordinary girl – a girl who, many years ago, disappeared from the town without a trace. With the help of her new friends Sam and Jay, Lily is determined to solve the mystery and find out who Emily was, why she disappeared and who has created the strange, hidden museum.
With a one-of-a-kind mystery, a brilliant trio of protagonists, and an action-filled story, Looking for Emily is the unmissable middle grade debut of 2022.
Contacts
Fiona Longmuir Twitter
Fiona Longmuir InstagramRepresented by: Julia Silk, Greyhound Literary
49 Greek Street
London W1D 4EG
UK
julia@greyhoundliterary.co.ukPress & PR for Looking for Emily and Freya's Gold: Rebecca Mason, Nosy Crow
press@nosycrow.com